Tondiarpet is a northern neighbourhood of

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Etymology

This area got its name from a famous nineteenth-century Muslim Saint

Kunangudi Masthan Sahib Kunangudi Masthan Sahib (1792-1838) was a Tamil Qadiriyya Sufi poet and composer. His songs remain popular today, especially in the Gaana music of Chennai. Early life Masthan Sahib was Born at Kunangudi near Thondi in Ramanathapuram district, he ...

. His birthplace is located near

Thondi Thondi or Tondi is a Panchayat town in Ramanathapuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located 48Km North from district headquarters Ramanathapuram Ramanathapuram (), also known as Ramnad, is a town and a municipality in Ra ...

Ramanathapuram District Ramanathapuram District, also known as Ramnad District, is one of the 38 districts an administrative districts of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. The old Ramanathapuram District consists of Present day Virudhunagar Virudhunagar is a c ...

. He meditated in a place known as "Lebbai Kaadu" in Chennai. The locals called him "Thondiar", meaning "Man hailing from Thondi". Later, Lebbai Kaadu came to be known as Tondiarpet. Hazarath Kunangudi Masthan Sahib Dargah located in

Royapuram Royapuram is a locality in the northern part of the city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is best known for its beach, and for Royapuram Railway Station. The station is the first railway station of south India, opening in 1856, and is today ...

near Tondiarpet is visited by people of all faith. His writings are hailed by all people and are available in a textbook labeled as Gnana Sidhar Kunangudiar. It is available at his dargah in Royapuram.

Location

The place is located in the northern part of Chennai and close to

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line between ...

. It shares its boundaries with other important regions of Chennai including George Town, which is a couple of kilometers to the south.

Chennai Airport Chennai International Airport is an international airport serving the city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu and its metropolitan area. It is located in Tirusulam, southwest of the city centre. Chennai International Airport is the sixth busiest airpo ...

is about 26 km away from here. The region has its own railway station,

Tondiarpet Railway Station Tondiarpet railway station is one of the railway station of the Chennai Central–Gummidipoondi section of the Chennai Suburban Railway Network. It serves the neighbourhood of Tondiarpet, a suburb of Chennai, and is located 5 km north of Ch ...

, on the Chennai Central–Gummidipoondi Line.

Economy

Trade and commerce flourishes in the township of Tondiarpet. Manufacturing and distributing enterprises are abundantly found at Tondiarpet. The region has a good number of export houses which primarily deal in silk apparels and jewellery. A good number of outlets merchandising plastic ware and metal ware are prevalent in the suburbs. The region also houses the fishing harbour. The Fish Marketing Office is also situated here. The place constitutes Zone-I and houses the zonal office of the

Corporation of Chennai The Greater Chennai Corporation, formerly known as the Corporation of Madras (1688-1996) and Corporation of Chennai (1996-2016), is the civic body that governs the city of Chennai in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Inaugurated on 29 September ...

Amenities

The southern part of Tondiarpet has many banks and hospitals. Some medical facility providers include

Apollo Hospital Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited is an Indian multinational healthcare group headquartered in Chennai. Along with the eponymous hospital chain, the company also operates pharmacies, primary care and diagnostic centres, telehealth clinics, ...

, Malinga Hospital, Government Peripheral Hospital, Communicable Diseases Hospital, and ESIC Hospital. A development project involving installation of public toilets, Corporation schools, gymnasia and health centres was undertaken by Corporation of Chennai in 2004, which has improved the region to a great extent.

References

{{Chennai Topics Neighbourhoods in Chennai Cities and towns in Chennai district